Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria

Infobox Monarch | name =Ivan Alexander
Иван Александър
title =Tsar of Bulgaria


caption =Portrait of the tsar from the Tetraevangelia of Ivan Alexander
reign =1331–February 17 1371
coronation =
predecessor =Ivan Stefan
successor =Ivan Šišman of Bulgaria
Ivan Sracimir of Bulgaria
consort =Theodora of Wallachia
Sarah (Theodora)
issue ="see below"
royal house =Šišman
royal anthem =
father =Sracimir of Krǎn
mother =Petrica
date of birth =
place of birth =
date of death =death date|1371|2|17|mf=y
place of death =
buried =|

Ivan Alexander ( _bg. Иван Александър, transliterated "Ivan Aleksandǎr"; [This article uses the United Nations-authorized scientific transliteration system to romanize Bulgarian Cyrillic. For details, see Romanization of Bulgarian.] pronounced|iˈvan alɛkˈsandɤr; original spelling: ІѠАНЪ АЛЄѮАН^дРЪ), [As spelled in the Zograf and Orjahov Charters. cite book |title=Gramoti na bǎlgarskite care |last=Daskalova |first=Angelina |coauthors=Marija Rajkova |year=2005 |location=Sofia |language=Bulgarian |publisher=Bulgarian Academy of Sciences |pages=pp. 58–59 |isbn=954-322-034-4 ] also known as John Alexander, [For example in cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-304933/John-Alexander |title=John Alexander (emperor of Bulgaria) |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica Online |accessdate=2007-01-19 ] ruled as Emperor ("Tsar") of Bulgaria from 1331 to 1371,Lalkov, "Rulers of Bulgaria", pp. 42–43.] during the Second Bulgarian Empire. The date of his birth is unknown. He died on February 17 1371. The long reign of Ivan Alexander is considered a transitional period in Bulgarian medieval history. Ivan Alexander began his rule by dealing with internal problems and external threats from Bulgaria's neighbours, the Byzantine Empire and Serbia, as well as leading his empire into a period of economic recovery and cultural and religious renaissance."Bǎlgarite i Bǎlgarija", 2.1]

However, the emperor was later unable to cope with the mounting incursions of Ottoman forces, Hungarian invasions from the northwest and the Black Death. In an ill-fated attempt to combat these problems, he divided the country between his two sons,Delev, "Istorija i civilizacija za 11. klas"] cite book |title=Histoire des Balkans, XIVe-XXe siècle |last=Castellan |first=Georges |year=1999 |publisher=Fayard |location=Paris |id=ISBN 2213605262 |language=French |pages=p. 42] thus forcing it to face the imminent Ottoman conquest weakened and divided.

Early rule

Ivan Alexander was the son of the "despotēs" Sracimir of Krǎn by Petrica, a sister of Michael Asen III of Bulgaria.Božilov, "Familijata na Asenevci", pp. 192–235.] Therefore, Ivan Alexander was a nephew of Michael Asen III. Paternally, Ivan Alexander descended from the Asen dynasty. By 1330 Ivan Alexander was himself a "despotēs" and governed the city of Loveč. Together with his father and his father-in-law Basarab of Wallachia, Ivan Alexander fought in the Battle of Velbǎžd against the Serbs at modern-day Kjustendil in 1330, in which Bulgaria suffered defeat. The defeat, combined with the worsening relations with the Byzantine Empire, precipitated an internal crisis, which was exacerbated by an invasion of the Byzantines. A coup d'état drove Ivan Stefan out of the capital Tǎrnovo in 1331, and the conspirators placed Ivan Alexander on the throne. [Fine, "Late Medieval Balkans", p. 273.]

The new ruler set about consolidating his position by regaining territories recently lost to the Byzantine Empire. In 1331 Ivan Alexander campaigned around Adrianople and reconquered northeastern Thrace. Meanwhile, Stefan Uroš IV Dušan deposed his father Stefan Uroš III Dečanski and became Serbian king in 1331. This helped normalize the previously tense relations between the two countries. Ivan Alexander and Stefan Uroš IV Dušan concluded an alliance, which was cemented by the marriage of the Serbian king to Helena of Bulgaria, a sister of Ivan Alexander, on Easter 1332.Fine, "Late Medieval Balkans", p. 274.]

At about the same time, Belaur, a brother of Michael Asen III, rebelled in Vidin, probably in support of his deposed nephew Ivan Stefan's claim to the throne. The advance of the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos against Bulgaria in the summer of 1332 protracted military operations against the rebels. The Byzantines overran Bulgarian-controlled northeastern Thrace, but Ivan Alexander rushed southward with a small army and swiftly caught up with Andronikos III at Rusokastro.

After giving the impression that he wished to negotiate, Ivan Alexander, reinforced by Mongol cavalry, overwhelmed the smaller but better organized Byzantine army in the Battle of Rusokastro. The contested cities surrendered to Ivan Alexander, while Andronikos III sought refuge within the walls of Rusokastro. The war ended with Ivan Alexander meeting Andronikos and agreeing a peace based on the "status quo". To seal the alliance, he betrothed his eldest son, Michael Asen IV, to Andronikos's daughter Maria (Eirene), the marriage eventually taking place in 1339. [Božilov, "Familijata na Asenevci", pp. 192–197.] The Bulgarian emperor was now free to turn his attentions to Belaur, but it was not until 1336 or 1337 that the rebellion in the northwest was put down. [Andreev, "Bǎlgarija prez vtorata četvǎrt na XIV v.", pp. 33–41.]

In about 1332 Ivan Alexander had crowned his eldest son Michael Asen IV co-emperor, perhaps to safeguard possession of the throne by his own family. He followed up this traditional association with the coronation of his younger sons Ivan Sracimir and Ivan Asen IV in 1337. Ivan Alexander may have intended the creation of two younger co-emperors to establish immediate control over important cities and regions, as Ivan Sracimir was eventually based in Vidin, and Ivan Asen IV perhaps in Preslav. Nevertheless, this was a marked departure from Byzantine practice, in which younger sons of the sovereign were made "despotēs", whether they were charged with a territorial administration or not. [Andreev, "Bǎlgarija prez vtorata četvǎrt na XIV v.", pp. 23–52.]

Relations with the Byzantine Empire

In the early 1340s relations with the Byzantine Empire temporarily deteriorated. Ivan Alexander demanded the extradition of his cousin Šišman, one of the sons of Michael Asen III, threatening the Byzantine government with war. Ivan Alexander's show of force backfired, as the Byzantines managed to see through his intentions and sent against him the fleet of their ally, the Turkish emir of Smyrna Umur Beg. Landing in the Danube Delta, the Turks of Umur Beg pillaged the countryside and attacked nearby Bulgarian cities. Forced to restrain his demands, Ivan Alexander invaded the Byzantine Empire again at the end of 1341, claiming that he was summoned by the people of Adrianople. [Bakalov, "Istorija na Bǎlgarija", "Esenta, 1341 g."] However, Ivan Alexander's troops were defeated twice by Turkish allies of the Byzantines near the city. [Fine, "Late Medieval Balkans", pp. 292–293.]

In 1341–1347 the Byzantine Empire was plunged into a protracted civil war between the regency for Emperor John V Palaiologos under Anna of Savoy and his intended guardian John VI Kantakouzenos. The neighbours of the Byzantines took advantage of the civil war, and while Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia sided with John VI Kantakouzenos, Ivan Alexander backed John V Palaiologos and his regency. Although the two Balkan rulers picked opposite sides in the Byzantine civil war, they maintained their alliance with each other. As the price for Ivan Alexander's support, the regency for John V Palaiologos ceded him the city of Philippopolis (Plovdiv) and nine important fortresses in the Rhodope Mountains in 1344. [Fine, "Late Medieval Balkans", p. 304.] This peaceful turnover constituted the last major success of Ivan Alexander's foreign policy.

Rise of Serbia and the Ottoman threat

During the same period, the Serbian king took advantage of the Byzantine civil war to take possession of what is now Macedonia, and of most of Albania and northern Greece. In 1345 he began to call himself "Emperor of Serbs and Greeks", and in 1346 he was crowned as such by the newly created Patriarch of Serbia. These actions, which the Byzantines received with indignation, appear to have been supported by Bulgaria, as the Patriarch of Bulgaria Simeon had participated in both the creation of a Serbian patriarchate and the imperial coronation of Stefan Uroš IV Dušan. [Fine, "Late Medieval Balkans", pp. 309–310.]

By the second half of the 1340s, little remained of Ivan Alexander's initial successes. John VI Kantakouzenos' Turkish allies pillaged parts of Bulgarian Thrace in 1346, 1347, 1349, 1352 and 1354, to which were added the ravages of the Black Death. [Fine, "Late Medieval Balkans", pp. 322, 325, 328.] The Bulgarians' attempts to repel the invaders met with repeated failure, and Ivan Alexander's third son and co-emperor, Ivan Asen IV, was killed in battle against the Turks in 1349, as was his older brother Michael Asen IV in 1355 or a little earlier. [Andreev, "Bǎlgarija prez vtorata četvǎrt na XIV v.", pp. 67–75.]

By 1351 the Byzantine civil war was over, and John VI Kantakouzenos had realized the threat posed by the Ottomans to the Balkan Peninsula. He appealed to the rulers of Serbia and Bulgaria for a united effort against the Turks and asked Ivan Alexander for money to construct warships,"Bǎlgarite i Bǎlgarija", 2.2] but his appeals fell on deaf ears as his neighbours distrusted his intentions. [Fine, "Late Medieval Balkans", p. 325.] A new attempt for cooperation between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire followed in 1355, [Bakalov, "Istorija na Bǎlgarija", "1355 g."] after John VI Kantakouzenos had been forced to abdicate and John V Palaiologos had been established as supreme emperor. To cement the treaty, Ivan Alexander's daughter Keraca Marijacite book |title=Istorija na srednovekovna Bǎlgarija VII-XIV vek (tom 1) |last=Božilov |first=Ivan |coauthors=Vasil Gjuzelev |year=2006 |publisher=Anubis |id=ISBN 9544262040 |language=Bulgarian ] was married off to the future Byzantine Emperor Andronikos IV Palaiologos, but the alliance failed to produce concrete results. [Božilov, "Familijata na Asenevci", pp. 218–224.]

Further stability problems and external conflicts

At home Ivan Alexander compromised the internal stability of his realm by divorcing his first wife Theodora of Wallachia (in about 1349) and marrying a converted Jew, also named Theodora. The new marriage produced new sons, whom Ivan Alexander proceeded to crown co-emperors, Ivan Šišman in about 1356 and Ivan Asen V by 1359. Ivan Alexander's last surviving son from his first marriage, the co-emperor Ivan Sracimir, became effectively independent around 1356; and Ivan Alexander's control over other powerful vassals, such as the rulers of Wallachia and Dobruja, who pursued their own foreign policies, was hardly stronger.Fine, "Late Medieval Balkans", p. 366.]

From the middle of the 14th century, Bulgaria fell prey to the aspirations of the Angevin king Louis I of Hungary, who annexed Moldavia in 1352 and established a vassal principality there, before conquering Vidin in 1365, and taking Ivan Sratsimir and his family into captivity.

In the meantime Bulgarians and Byzantines had clashed again in 1364. In 1366, when Emperor John V Palaiologos was returning from his trip to the west, the Bulgarians refused to let him pass through Bulgaria. This stance backfired, as another Byzantine ally, Count Amadeus VI of Savoy, captured several Bulgarian maritime cities in retaliation, including Ankhialos (Pomorie) and Mesembria (Nesebǎr), though he failed to take Varna. Outmanoeuvred, Ivan Alexander was forced to make peace. [ Fine, "Late Medieval Balkans", p. 367.]

The captured cities were turned over to the Byzantine Empire, while Emperor John V Palaiologos paid the sum of 180,000 florins to Ivan Alexander. The Bulgarian emperor used this sum and territorial concessions to induce his at least "de jure" vassals Dobrotica of Dobruja [Bakalov, "Istorija na Bǎlgarija", "Dobrotica (neizv.–okolo 1385)"] and Vladislav I of Wallachia [cite book |title=Političeska geografija na srednovekovnata bǎlgarska dǎržava 2 (1186–1396) |last=Koledarov |first=Petǎr |publisher=Bulgarian Academy of Sciences |year=1989 |pages=pp. 13–25, 102 |language=Bulgarian ] [cite journal |title=Dako-romǎnite i tjahnata slavjanska pismenost. Novi vlaho-bǎlgarski gramoti ot Brašov |volume=2 |url=http://www.promacedonia.org/lm/index.html |last=Miletič |first=Ljubomir |journal=Sbornik za narodni umotvorenija, nauka i knižnina |issue=13 |location=Sofia |year=1896 |pages=p. 47 |language=Bulgarian |accessdate=2007-02-11 ] to reconquer Vidin from the Hungarians. [Bakalov, "Istorija na Bǎlgarija", "Esenta, 1369 g."] The war was successful, and Ivan Sracimir was reinstalled in Vidin in 1369, although the Hungarian king forced him to acknowledge his overlordship. [Fine, "Late Medieval Balkans", pp. 367–368.]

The relatively successful resolution of the crisis in the northwest did nothing to help recover the losses in the southeast. To make matters worse, in 1369 (the date is disputed), the Ottoman Turks under Murad I conquered Adrianople (in 1363) and made it the effective capital of their expanding state. At the same time, they also captured the Bulgarian cities of Philippopolis and Boruj (Stara Zagora). [Tjutjundžiev and Pavlov, "Bǎlgarskata dǎržava i osmanskata ekspanzija"] As Bulgaria and the Serbian princes in Macedonia prepared for united action against the Turks, Ivan Alexander died on February 17 1371. [Fine, "Late Medieval Balkans", p. 368.] He was succeeded by his sons Ivan Sracimir in Vidin and Ivan Šišman in Tǎrnovo, while the rulers of Dobruja and Wallachia achieved further independence.

Culture and religion

During Ivan Alexander's rule, the Second Bulgarian Empire entered a period of cultural renaissance, which is sometimes referred to as the "Second Golden Age of Bulgarian culture", [cite book
url= http://www.pravoslavieto.com/manastiri/bulgarskite_manastiri.htm |title=Bǎlgarski manastiri |accessdate=2007-01-19 | year=1974 | location=Sofia |last=Čavrǎkov |first=Georgi |publisher=Nauka i izkustvo |language=Bulgarian] [cite journal |title=Religion in Bulgaria after 1989 |url=http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/getdocument.aspx?logid=5&id=B7ABEB3F-8650-4798-8CC2-649B6E6C24F2 |last=Kǎnev |first=Petǎr |pages=p. 81 |issue=1 |year=2002 |journal=South-East Europe Review ] the original one being the rule of Simeon the Great. [cite book | url = http://www.mfa.government.bg/history_of_Bulgaria/
title = Bǎlgarite i Bǎlgarija | publisher = Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Trud, Sirma | chapter = 1.2.3 "Zlaten vek" na bǎlgarskata kultura | chapterurl = http://www.mfa.government.bg/history_of_Bulgaria/66.html
year = 2005 | language = Bulgarian ] A large number of Bulgarian monasteries and churches were constructed or renovated on the order of Ivan Alexander. ["Sinodik na Car Boril", additions from the 13th and 14th century, cited in Canev, "Bǎlgarski hroniki", p. 456.] Mural portraits of him as a donor can be seen in the Bachkovo Monastery's ossuary and in the Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo.cite web | url = http://ald-bg.narod.ru/zarIoAl.html | title = Izobraženijata na Ivan Aleksandǎr ot XIV vek. | language = Bulgarian | accessdate = 2007-01-19 ] Donor's deeds of Ivan Alexander prove that the monasteries of the Holy Mother of God Eleoussa and St Nicholas in Nesebǎr were reconstructed during that period, as was the St Nicholas monastery near Pernik, according to a Hilandar monastery deed. [cite web | url = http://www.infotel.bg/rubrics/manastir/p1.htm |title = Manastiri |publisher = Infotel.bg | language = Bulgarian |accessdate = 2007-01-19] In addition, the tsar also initiated the construction of the Dragalevci and Kilifarevo monasteries.

Literary activity also flourished during the reign of Ivan Alexander. Several important literary works were created in the period, such as the Middle Bulgarian translation of the Manasses Chronicle (1344–1345), currently preserved in the Vatican Secret Archives in Rome, [cite web |title=Njakoi pametnici na starobǎlgarskata knižnina |publisher=Kosmos |year=1963 |language = Bulgarian |accessdate=2007-01-19 |last = Gjuzelev |first = Vasil |url=http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache:t2Oxx-RppRgJ:kosmos.pass.as/static/kosmos/1963/07/pg_0042.htm ] the richly illustrated Tetraevangelia of Ivan Alexander (1355–1356), now exhibited in the British Library, [cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/themes/euromanuscripts/bulggosp.html |title=Gospels of Tsar Ivan Alexander |publisher=British Library |accessdate=2006-03-25 ] the Tomić Psalter (1360), today in Moscow, and the Sofia Psalter (1337). [cite journal |title=Informacionen bjuletin na BAN |issue=89 |last=Miltenova |first=Anisava |publisher=Bulgarian Academy of Sciences |location=Sofia |month=June | year=2005 |url=http://www.bas.bg/basnews/bulletin/Bul89.pdf |language=Bulgarian |pages=p. 24 |issn=1312-5311 |accessdate=2007-02-11 |format=dead link|date=June 2008 – ^{[http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=author%3AMiltenova+intitle%3AInformacionen+bjuletin+na+BAN&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&btnG=Search Scholar search]} ]

Ivan Alexander's rule was also marked by efforts to strengthen the position of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church by pursuing heretics and Jews.cite web |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/bulgaria.html |title=The Virtual Jewish History Tour Bulgaria |publisher=Jewish Virtual Library |accessdate=2007-01-19 ] He organized two anti-heretical church councils, in 1350 and 1359–1360, [cite news |url=http://synpress-classic.dveri.bg/09-2003/patriarsi.htm |title=Bǎlgarskite patriarsi prez Srednovekovieto |last=Karamihaleva |first=Aleksandra |publisher=Cǎrkoven vestnik |accessdate=2007-01-19 |language=Bulgarian ] that condemned various sects such as the Bogomils, the Adamites and the Judaizers. [Canev, "Bǎlgarski hroniki", p. 457.]

The spiritual practice of hesychasm, a form of incantatory prayer, deeply influenced certain areas of the Eastern Orthodox world of the 14th century. A notable Bulgarian representative of the movement during Ivan Alexander's reign was Theodosius of Tǎrnovo. [cite web |url=http://www.pravoslavieto.com/life/11.27_sv_Teofosij_Turnovski.htm |title=Sv. prepodobni Teodosij Tǎrnovski |publisher=Pravoslavieto.com |accessdate=2007-01-19 |language=Bulgarian ]

During this time, the Bulgarian Empire had trade relations with the Mediterranean maritime powers Venice, Genoa and Ragusa. [cite book |title=Bǎlgarska enciklopedija A-JA – treto osǎvremeneno izdanie |publisher=Trud, Sirma |chapter=Ivan Aleksandǎr Asen (?–1371) |year=2005 |location=Sofia |id=ISBN 9545285192 |language=Bulgarian ] In 1353, Ivan Alexander issued a charter allowing Venetian merchants to buy and sell goods throughout Bulgaria after Doge Andrea Dandolo assured him they would observe the prior treaties between the two countries. [Bakalov, "Istorija na Bǎlgarija", "Venecianska gramota"]

In modern times, the rule of Ivan Alexander inspired Bulgarian national writer Ivan Vazov to write the novelette "Ivan-Aleksandǎr"cite web |url=http://www.slovo.bg/showbio.php3?ID=14 |title=Biografični beležki – Ivan Vazov |publisher=Slovoto |language=Bulgarian |accessdate=2007-01-19 ] and the drama "Kǎm propast" ("Towards an Abyss"), in both of which the tsar is the main character.

A piece of a garment signed by Ivan Alexander and interwoven with gold was discovered in a noble's grave near Pirot in the 1970s; today it is preserved in the National Museum of Serbia in Belgrade. It is the first find of its kind, demonstrating a medieval tradition attested in writing according to which Orthodox rulers would present their most eminent dignitaries with a piece of a garment they had worn. [cite news |url=http://bgarmy.eamci.bg/Scripts/isapiVWB.dll/doc?THEMEID=14930 |title=Otkrita e unikalna zlatotkana dreha na Car Ivan Aleksandǎr |last=Beniševa |first=Daniela |publisher=Bǎlgarska armija |date=2002-11-18 |accessdate=2007-02-03 |language=Bulgarian]

Family

By his first wife Theodora of Wallachia (nun Teofana), a daughter of Basarab of Wallachia, Ivan Alexander had several children, including Ivan Sracimir, who ruled as emperor of Bulgaria in Vidin 1356–1397, associated emperors Michael Asen IV (co-ruled c. 1332–1354/5) and Ivan Asen IV (co-ruled 1337–1349), and a daughter called Thamar (Kera Tamara), who was married first to the "despotēs" Constantine (Konstantin), and then to Sultan Murad I [cite book |title=Southeastern Europe Under Ottoman Rule, 1354–1804 |last=Sugar |first=Pete |year=1983 |publisher=University of Washington Press |pages=p. 16 |id=ISBN 0295960337] of the Ottoman Empire.

By his second wife Sarah-Theodora, Ivan Alexander had several other children, which included Keraca Marija, who married the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos IV Palaiologos, Ivan Šišman, who succeeded as emperor of Bulgaria in Tǎrnovo 1371–1396, Ivan Asen V, associated as emperor of Bulgaria by 1359–1388?, as well as two daughters named Desislava and Vasilisa.

Family tree of Ivan Alexander

Timeline

Timeline of Ivan Alexander's life

Notes

References

* cite book
last = Andreev
first = Jordan
coauthors = Ivan Lazarov, Plamen Pavlov
year = 1999
title = Koj koj e v srednovekovna Bǎlgarija
location = Sofia
publisher = Petǎr Beron
edition = 2nd edition
language = Bulgarian
id = ISBN 954-402-047-0
* cite book
last = Andreev
first = Jordan
year = 1993
title = Bǎlgarija prez vtorata četvǎrt na XIV v.
location = Veliko Tǎrnovo
publisher = Sv. Kliment Ohridski
language = Bulgarian
id = OCLC [http://worldcat.org/oclc/69163573 69163573]
* cite book
last = Angelov
first = Petǎr
title = Bǎlgaro-srǎbskite otnošenija pri caruvaneto na Ivan Aleksandǎr (1331-1371) i Stefan Dušan (1331-1355
publisher = Sofia University Press
location = Sofia
year = 1982
language = Bulgarian
origyear = 1978
* cite book
last = Bakalov
first = Georgi
coauthors = Milen Kumanov
title = Elektronno izdanie – Istorija na Bǎlgarija
publisher = Trud, Sirma
year = 2003
location = Sofia
id = ISBN 9844830679
language = Bulgarian
* cite book
last = Božilov
first = Ivan
year = 1985
title = Familijata na Asenevci (1186–1460)
location = Sofia
publisher = Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
language = Bulgarian
id = OCLC [http://worldcat.org/oclc/14378091 14378091]
* cite book
title = Bǎlgarski hroniki
last = Canev
first = Stefan
chapter = 11 Kǎm propast. Car Ivan Aleksandǎr, Momčil
publisher = Trud, Žanet 45
language = Bulgarian
year = 2006
location = Sofia, Plovdiv
id = ISBN 954-528-610-5
* cite book
title = Istorija i civilizacija za 11. klas
last = Delev
first = Petǎr
coauthors = Valeri Kacunov, Plamen Mitev, Evgenija Kalinova, Iskra Baeva, Bojan Dobrev
chapter = 19 Bǎlgarija pri Car Ivan Aleksandǎr
year = 2006
language = Bulgarian
publisher = Trud, Sirma
* cite book
last = Fine, Jr.
first = John V.A.
year = 1987
title = The Late Medieval Balkans
publisher = University of Michigan Press
location = Ann Arbor
id = ISBN 0-472-08260-4
* cite book
last=Lalkov
first=Milčo
title=Rulers of Bulgaria
chapterurl=http://www.bulgaria.com/history/rulers/alexander.html
chapter=Tsar Ivan Alexander (1331–1371)
publisher=Kibea
id=ISBN 954-474-098-8
year=1997
* cite book
last = Tjutjundžiev
first = Ivan
coauthors = Plamen Pavlov
year = 1992
title = Bǎlgarskata dǎržava i osmanskata ekspanzija 1369–1422
location = Veliko Tǎrnovo
language = Bulgarian
id = OCLC [http://worldcat.org/oclc/29671645 29671645]
* cite book
url = http://www.mfa.government.bg/history_of_Bulgaria/
title = Bǎlgarite i Bǎlgarija
publisher = Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Trud, Sirma
chapter = 2.1 Sǎzdavane i utvǎrždavane na Vtorata bǎlgarska dǎržava. Vǎzstanovenata dǎržavnost
chapterurl = http://www.mfa.government.bg/history_of_Bulgaria/136.html
year = 2005
language = Bulgarian
* cite book
url = http://www.mfa.government.bg/history_of_Bulgaria/
title = Bǎlgarite i Bǎlgarija
publisher = Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Trud, Sirma
chapter = 2.2 Balkansko kǎsogledstvo. Opitǎt da se oceljava poedinično
chapterurl = http://www.mfa.government.bg/history_of_Bulgaria/11.html
year = 2005
language = Bulgarian

External links

* [http://sitemaker.umich.edu/mladjov/files/bulgarian_rulers.pdf Detailed list of Bulgarian rulers]
* [http://ald-bg.narod.ru/zarIoAl.html Images of Tsar Ivan Alexander from the 14th century]

###@@@KEY@@@###

Persondata
NAME=Ivan Alexander
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=John Alexander; Иван Александър (Bulgarian); Ivan Aleksandǎr (transliteration)
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Tsar of Bulgaria
DATE OF BIRTH=late 13th or early 14th century
PLACE OF BIRTH=Bulgaria
DATE OF DEATH=17 February 1371
PLACE OF DEATH=Bulgaria